


I just want to take care of you

by Writerofthelorde



Series: An assortment of first kisses [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Bathing/Washing, Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Cuddling, Declarations Of Love, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Dorks in Love, Falling In Love, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Get Together, Getting Together, Housemates, Hurt Zuko (Avatar), Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Living Together, Love Confessions, M/M, Modern AU, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Zuko (Avatar), Pining, Protective Sokka (Avatar), Roommates, Soft Zuko, Tenderness, True Love, Zuko (Avatar) Needs a Hug, Zuko has a bad day, besties with feelings, caring Sokka, gentle Sokka, soft sokka
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:09:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26531173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writerofthelorde/pseuds/Writerofthelorde
Summary: Zuko has a terrible, horrible, no good day. Sokka tries to cheer him up but that's hard when everything goes wrong... but boy does he try.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: An assortment of first kisses [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1928026
Comments: 32
Kudos: 368





	I just want to take care of you

**Author's Note:**

> This is a standalone fic, in a series of all standalone fics where I explore different ways for them to have their first kiss.  
> This one is a modern AU where they live together and are besties with feelings.

When Zuko came home at the end of the day he was praying to find Sokka cooking dinner for them both. When he walked in he got about the hundredth disappointment of the day. Hundred was probably an exaggeration but it certainly felt that way. Besides, who could blame the guy for being dramatic after a terrible day? Give him a break.

He sighed and walked to his room. He took off his apron and clothes and tossed them in the hamper. He struggled to get into his sweatpants and fell into his dresser to stop himself from falling to the ground. It _really_ was one of those days.

“Zuko?” He heard Sokka call from his bedroom.

“Yeah, it’s me.” He called back, his voice oozing exhaustion.

“You good?”

“Yeah.” He lied.

He strolled back to the living room and laid down on the couch with a long exhale. It had been _such_ a long day. Just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

They had customers who were rude, customers who were angry and they even had a customer who was sick. She threw up on the store floor and Zuko had to clean it up. His apron hadn’t been on right and had hung in the disgusting vomit, and then when he went to the back there wasn’t a clean one for him.

After trying to wash it out he had to work with a wet apron, making his clothes soaked too and so he felt cold and gross and was still smelling the throw up as he continued his work.

He had slipped on milk and landed on his ass so hard he was sure it was bruised. The milk had soaked his pants before he had the chance to get up. He burned his hand on the oven… he could go on for a while…

He laid there with his eyes closed, trying to decide what he was going to do with the rest of the evening.

After a few minutes, Sokka came out of his room and peeked around the corner at the couch.

“Are you okay?” He asked concerned. Usually, Zuko would come into Sokka’s bedroom and stand against the doorframe complaining about his customers. If he didn’t that meant something was wrong.

Zuko sighed as an answer. “It was just a bad day.”

Sokka sat down on the floor next to the couch and draped an arm over him. He cared so much about the guy he couldn’t help the concern in his eyes and his voice. He frowned as he watched him. He looked exhausted.

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

“Nah.” Zuko shrugged.

“Sokka, get your ass back in your room they’re slaughtering us!” Suki yelled through the speakers of Sokka’s computer. They were playing a game and Suki was ever so passionate about winning. She was definitely one of Sokka’s best friends, but her need to get to the next level in the games wasn’t as important as Zuko.

Zuko grimaced. It was too loud after such an exhausting day. Sokka ignored Suki’s yelling. It was just a game and Zuko was upset for real.

“Are you sure?”

Zuko nodded and pushed Sokka’s arm away. He wanted to linger, he wanted to keep feeling Sokka’s arm around him, but he knew Suki would just keep calling for him until he came back. “Yes, go play your game.”

“You should eat something.” Sokka offered as a reply.

Zuko shrugged. “I’m too tired to make something, I think I’m just gonna go to bed soon.” He was so damn exhausted and he didn’t want to pull Sokka away from his game. He opened his eyes again when he realised something. “Shouldn’t you eat, though?”

“I already ate, I have work soon.”

Zuko closed his eyes again. He didn’t know Sokka had work that day. He had hoped that maybe they could watch a movie together till he fell asleep but apparently even that was too much to ask for on a day like this.

“Didn’t I tell you?” Sokka asked with a frown. “I shinched swift with- wait what.” He ran his fingers over his eyebrows and tried again. “I shifts switched- no. Katara and I shwitch sift-what?” He sighed. “ _Shift_. _Switched_. We switched. shifts.” He forced himself to say every letter harshly so he wouldn’t mess it up again. He breathed out in relief when he finally said it right. “Holy shit that took me a while to say… anyway I took Katara’s shift and she’s taking mine tomorrow.”

Zuko chuckled tiredly. “Why didn’t you just say that?”

“Because I had already started that sentence and I’ll be damned if I don’t finish what I started.”

This earned a genuine laugh. “You definitely don’t finish everything you started.” He pointed at the mess of their lego project on the floor as an example.

“Hey..!” Sokka hit his arm playfully before hearing Suki yell a bunch of curse words at him. He contemplated admitting to Zuko that he didn’t finish the legos because he wanted to make it together, but decided against it.

“Go. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Zuko sat up to shove him away, but Sokka didn’t let him. He took a moment to sternly look at him to try to figure out if he secretly wanted him to stay. He couldn’t find a thing though. He had to admit that made him feel a little bit disappointed.

“Okay… sleep well.” He got up from the floor and ruffled Zuko’s hair. It hurt his head, but it was just so nice of a sentiment that he ignored it.

“Have fun at work.”

Sokka chuckled. “I’ll do my best. Don’t forget to eat something. Even if it’s just like an apple or something.”

Zuko rolled his eyes. “Yes, dad.”

Sokka shot him a disapproving look. “How many times do I have to tell you friends can take care of each other too? It’s not immediately parental.”

Zuko sighed dramatically, and Sokka just shot him another sassy look. Zuko wanted to pull him into his arms and hold onto him until he passed out. Except Sokka had work and they had never held each other for that long. He wanted to so badly though.

Zuko’s evening only made the day worse. He forced himself to try to make something to eat but everything went wrong. He dropped things, he burned his hand, he ruined the food. He ended up just giving up and running a bath.

Except that’s where things _also_ went wrong. Maybe even more so. He got sprayed with cold water, forgot his clothes, almost slipped on the water on the floor, ran to his room already naked, yelling for Sokka to stay in his room, then he didn’t look as he put his clothes down cause the bottle of soap had fallen over and was spilling _way_ too much into the bath, so he looked away as he put his clothes down.. on the open toilet….

He was groaning and sighing and cursing during the whole thing and Sokka felt so bad.

Zuko fished his, no longer clean, clothes out of the toilet and tried to wring them out in the sink, still naked and therefor now freezing. He ran back to his room, once again yelling for Sokka to not come out cause he was naked, then came back, just to find the soap bubbles getting everywhere.

He sank to the floor and almost started crying from the overflowing feeling of, _not this too…._

He turned off the water, did his best to scoop up most of the overflowing foam, and just tossed it in the sink hoping it would disappear eventually and then finally got into the bath, just to realise he forgot his damn towel. He looked at the toilet seat as he reached out and only found his new clothes. Turns out he also forgot his book. In annoyance, he threw his head back against the bath a little too harshly.

 _Ugh_.

Sokka had heard it all go down and felt so bad for him. He had a bad day at work and now all this..?

He turned off his game before they were done, much to Suki’s disapproval.

“Can he hear me?” She asked over the headset.

“No.”

“I hope you take good care of your not-boyfriend because if you don’t and you still leave this game…! I will never forgive you Watertribe!”

Sokka rolled his eyes with heated cheeks. “Don’t worry, I will.”

And he did.

He went into the kitchen and cleaned up the mess as fast as he could. He only had about 35 more minutes until he had to leave for work. He cooked him something simple and then placed it in the oven on a low heat.

After getting back into his room and readying himself for work in a total hurry, he gently knocked on the bathroom door.

“Are you okay?” He asked carefully.

“C-could you… could you get my towel? It’s on my bed.”

“Yes, of course.” Sokka chimed, immediately doing so.

When he got it he walked into the bathroom, looked at the mess, and then started laughing endearingly.

“ _Really_ bad day, huh?”

Zuko groaned. “Yes, _so_ bad..!”

Sokka moved some things around, cleaned up the floor, and then moved Zuko’s towel and clothes to a dry patch of the sink before sitting down on the closed toilet.

He leant back, arms behind his back, and sighed softly. “I totally butchered this level. Suki is gonna kill me.”

He said it in such a way that Zuko knew not to say anything.

The younger man launched into the story of whatever game they were playing at the moment and how hard this level was and they had tried like thirty times now and still couldn’t make it. He left out the part where this last try things were going amazingly well and they almost reached their goal. They probably would’ve if Sokka hadn’t turned off the game to take care of Zuko. It wasn't that important.

Sokka looked him in the eye and Zuko blushed. They had definitely seen each other naked before, but on a day like this it just felt a little bit odd, Sokka figured.

“Oh sorry, do you want the curtain closed?” Sokka asked as soon as he realised why Zuko was blushing. He wasn’t planning on leaving, but he could definitely chat with him with the curtain closed.

Zuko chuckled softly. “Nah, I think there’s enough bubbles to cover me up.”

Sokka chuckled with him. “Yeah definitely.”

It was quiet for a moment. Sokka was about to launch into another story when Zuko looked up at him. “Shouldn’t you be going to work?”

Sokka checked the time on his phone. “Nah, still have like 20 minutes.”

“20 minutes left and you’re already ready?” Zuko asked surprised, trying to not just be grumpy all night.

Sokka smiled warmly. “Yeah.” He shrugged when everything clicked for Zuko. He was done early just so he could spend time with him. He watched Zuko blush and for a moment didn’t know what to say.

“So, I was thinking…” He started after another moment. “…maybe tomorrow we could do something together?”

Zuko hated this. He hated to disappoint. “I uhhh.. I have work tomorrow.”

“Oh, that’s fine,” Sokka said unfazed. “I was thinking we could go to that new ice cream shop. They’re officially opening tomorrow and staying open till 8 so if you have the energy after work… if things go better than today… if you want..?” He had started out to confidently and enthusiastically and it hurt Zuko’s heart to hear how he started to doubt his idea halfway through his sentence.

“Yeah, that sounds like fun.” Zuko smiled at him.

Sokka smiled back so warmly it was like none of the hardships of the day mattered anymore.

Sokka sat there chatting lightly with him till the very last minute he had to still get to work on time. He told Zuko about Katara and Aang and their disaster date and apparently Toph had gotten into trouble again and this time couldn’t get out of it using her blindness as an excuse. Or her parents’ money. He used ridiculous voices to imitate their friends and Zuko couldn’t help but laugh at him.

He finally felt at ease again. All the weight of the day just simply slipping away as he laid there and listened to Sokka’s passionate rambling.

It had been bliss until Sokka’s alarm went off.

“I have to go,” Sokka said as he got up and ruffled his hair again. “Oh and there’s food in the oven. I’d give it another…” he checked his phone even though he knew the time. “…I’d say 40 minutes for it to be done.”

With that, he walked away. Zuko couldn’t form words for a moment, feeling an overwhelming amount of gratitude and love.

When he could finally form words again Sokka was standing in the doorway. He wasn’t exactly happy about the words that came out though, but he just couldn’t stop himself.

“Thank you, Sokka. I love you.” He said without thinking.

Shit. Shit, shit, and also _shit_. and fuck. _Crap_.

He was in the bathtub and _naked_ he couldn’t go anywhere to hide. He tried to hide his face in the insane amount of soap bubbles in the bath, but the more he moved the more they disappeared.

Sokka froze, slid back into the bathroom, and closed the door again. He walked over to the bathtub so fast Zuko panicked even more.

The younger man could see it on his face and spoke calmly.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to do anything you don’t want. I’m not going to cross your boundaries, I just…” He sat down on his knees and reached out to caress his cheek.

“I’m just going to kiss you real quick, okay? I really have to go to work, I’m already late, but I love you too, and I’d like to kiss you.”

Zuko, when his brain had finally caught up with him, nodded, his eyes wide with surprise and wonder.

Sokka wasted no time and quickly pressed a soft kiss to his lips. His hand was still on Zuko’s cheek and he had parted his lips slightly before pressing them together.

Zuko was stuck in that position, his eyes closed and lips slightly pursed, even as Sokka moved away.

Sokka caressed his cheek again and then pressed another kiss to his lips. He just couldn’t help it. Zuko was still sitting there, all ready for another kiss, so who was he to deny him that?

When he leant in for another quick, gentle kiss Zuko’s hand came up from the water and touched his cheek and Sokka didn’t care that it was wet because he was finally actually kissing him and his lips were so soft..!

Sokka’s hand moved to the back of his neck and they kissed longer and deeper, but just as slow and gentle.

He forgot the time for a moment. He had to force himself to pull away when he finally realised that he should be going to work.

“I really have to go to work. I can’t be late.” He was extremely reluctant. He looked at Zuko’s cute face and his red lips and he just had to kiss them again. So he just simply did, but shortly this time.

“Alright.” He said with a nod.

He pressed one last kiss to his lips.

“I just…”

Maybe _this_ one would be the last, he thought as he kissed him again.

“I have to go”

Another peck.

“really”

And another.

“I’m late.”

Another little kiss. _This_ one was the last one. Right?

Zuko opened his eyes and started talking much quieter than he had meant to. “When you come back from work…” He hesitated. “Come sleep in my bed with me.”

“Yes.” Sokka agreed. “Yes, I’d like that.”

He kissed him one more time and lingered longer than he should have before backing away and leaving for real this time. Okay, so _that_ was the last one. For now.

Zuko spent the rest of the evening thinking that, _You know what? Today wasn’t that bad after all._

When Sokka got home that night he felt butterflies in his stomach as he walked into their house. The idea of sleeping in the same bed with Zuko wasn’t exactly new, but actually doing it… that was.

He got into his own bedroom, did all the things he needed to do, then went to brush his teeth and clean his face.

When he stood in front of his bedroom door he got so nervous he almost chickened out. Even though he knew Zuko wanted this just as bad as him, he still felt uncertain.

He slowly opened the door and peeked inside; Zuko was awake.

“Hey.” He whispered.

“Hey,” Zuko whispered back, his voice raspy. “Come in.”

Sokka did as he was told and quickly got into bed with him. Zuko turned to him, his eyes filled with disbelieve. He was actually there, right in front of him, in his bed of all places.

Sokka reached out and Zuko leant into the touch. He turned his face and kissed the inside of his wrist and Sokka let go of a shuddering breath. When Zuko looked up Sokka was already leaning in to kiss him.

They kissed softly, their hands wandering, trying to find the perfect place, just to realise everywhere was perfect. As long as they could feel each other it didn’t really matter.

“How was work?” Zuko whispered to his lips.

“It was fine.” Sokka kissed him again. “How was your evening?”

“It was fine. Read my book. Thought of you.”

Sokka smirked. “Oh, I’m sure you did. Did you register any part of your book?”

Zuko blushed and so Sokka continued to tease.

“Did you spend the entire time trying to remember what my _amazing_ lips feel like on yours?” He wiggled his eyebrows and Zuko blushed even deeper and shoved him away.

“…cause I did… god I messed up so many drinks tonight, you were all I could think about.”

Zuko stared at him for several seconds. It was odd to hear him say that. When he finally found it in himself to awaken from his thoughts, he leant in and kissed him softly.

“I spent most of the time thinking I dreamt it up for myself to make up for the shitty day.” He admitted.

“Oh no, that won’t do,” Sokka replied almost instantly. “How long do I have to kiss you for? How long will it take for you to believe it’s real?”

Zuko looked at the ceiling as he contemplated with pouted lips. “Forever.” He nodded seriously as he looked back at Sokka.

Sokka just smirked at him and pulled him in.

“That’s a long-ass time, but I’ll do my best.”

“God, you’re so cute,” Zuko whispered with a fond laugh.

Sokka tried his hardest not to blush, and just kissed him instead of replying.

They kissed for another couple minutes until Sokka was getting too tired.

“I hope things are a little bit better now.” He pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Zuko smiled slightly. “So much better.” He pressed another kiss to Sokka’s hand.

“I’m glad.” He cuddled close and pressed his lips into his neck. “Next time, will you just come to me? I’ll quit the game, I’ll make you dinner, whatever it is, I’ll be there.”

“Thank you, Sokka. Thank you so much.”

“It’s no problem, Zuko.” He held on just a little bit tighter.

“I just want to take care of you.”


End file.
